Can't Stop the Rain
by Unstable Firestarter
Summary: All Demyx wants to do is leave the Organization with the one he loves, but that brands him a traitor and traitors are destroyed. So when they meet an unexpected fate is there any chance for a second life? Axel/Demyx.
1. Umbrella

**A/N:** Yay! My first AkuDemy story! I've been wanting to write one for a long time, but I never had a proper idea before that wasn't just a little oneshot. Then this morning I woke up with Cascada's Can't Stop the Rain stuck in my brain, and it spawned...this somehow. So yeah, slash- Axel/Demyx, rated for future character death. Don't like slash, don't read, don't comment, otherwise, reviews are more than welcome.

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**Chapter One – "Umbrella"**

_Damn Sora._ Was the first thought that crossed the blonde's mind as he emerged from a corridor of darkness in the World That Never Was. He leaned heavily against the side of one of the buildings, a hand over his left shoulder. _Why do they send me on these kinds of missions? I'm not cut out for this sort of thing. _It wasn't that he couldn't fight, he just…didn't like to. And look where that hesitation had landed him; not only had he failed his mission in the Underworld, but his shoulder was hurt, bad.

_Sprained…or dislocated, I don't know, but it hurts. Why'd you have to be so rough, Roxas? _He winced a bit as he tried to move his shoulder, and found that the action resulted in more pain. The steadily falling rain was soaking his hair, his Organization uniform, but he made no effort to move from where he was. He should head up to the Castle, get Vexen to take a look at his shoulder, but he knew the man wouldn't be happy with his failure, and he'd probably cause the younger blonde more pain than good in fixing his injury.

_So, what?_ He thought to himself, _You're just going to stay here and suffer with the pain?_ But what other option did he have? He already feared Vexen enough as it was, and he was sure his whimpering would only make things worse-the scientist despised him, after all.

"Demyx?"

He flinched at the sound of a familiar voice, looking up to see Axel standing near the mouth of the alley. Apparently he wasn't bothered too much by the rain either, as his hood was back, his red spikes that usually defied gravity weighed down by the water. Demyx straightened, eyeing him a bit warily-he never really got along with Axel, though he really didn't know why. The redhead just usually turned a cold shoulder to the water mage.

"Oh, hey Axel," the blonde said, "I thought I was the only one out here this late." He was trying to pull off a casual attitude-but from the look in the other's brilliant eyes, he didn't succeed.

"You had a mission in the Underworld, didn't you?" Axel said, starting to walk into the alley, and continued when Demyx nodded, "How did that go?"

The Nocturne leaned against the wall again, wincing a bit, "Horribly," he replied, hanging his head, "I failed. Xemnas is going to have my head for this."

Axel shook his head, "Don't worry too much, his bark's worse than his bite."

"Sounds more like Saïx, only his bite _is _worse," Demyx said with a slight laugh.

He was rewarded with a rare smile from the redhead, and he blinked a bit; what was bringing this so unexpectedly? Why was Axel actually talking to him and being nice?

"Are you alright?" the pyro asked, stopping a few feet away from Demyx and noticing the way the blonde was favoring his shoulder.

"Well…I…actually…" Demyx floundered, mentally cursing himself for sounding like an idiot, "No," he managed at last, "I think it's dislocated or something."

Axel nodded, choosing to overlook the blonde's stammering, "You should have Vexen take a look at that."

Demyx shook his head forcefully, wet bangs flopping across his forehead, "He'll be mad at me for screwing up my mission."

The redhead sighed, and Demyx expected to be scolded for his lack of bravery-however, what he got was quite the opposite. "Let _me_ take a look at it, then?" Axel asked.

Demyx blinked a few times, not having expected this at all. "Wha-what? You?" he said in surprise, "Um…okay."

"You'll have to take off your coat," Axel pointed out.

The blonde blushed, "Not here!" he protested with a pout, "It's raining."

He expected Axel to be a bit annoyed, since the redhead had never seemed big on patience, but he just gave another faint smile, shaking his head, "Of course not," he said.

Nearby there was a boarded up sidewalk café with a canvas overhang, and it was to here that Axel led him, sitting the blonde down on one of the chairs. Shyly, Demyx unzipped his coat, glad that he was wearing a black shirt underneath, and shrugged out of one sleeve. He struggled with the left one though, trying to get it off without moving his arm too much, and was grateful when Axel helped him.

He sat still and silent as the pyro tugged off his gloves before inspecting the blonde's shoulder. For some reason his touch made Demyx blush more, but he just bit his lip and said nothing, wincing a bit when Axel moved his injured arm. After a few moments, the redhead sighed softly, nodding.

"It's dislocated," he concluded, looking down at the Nocturne, "I can fix it easy, but it'll hurt."

"T-that's okay," Demyx said, taking a deep breath and turning his head to the side, "Go ahead."

"Alright," Axel said, "On three."

On two he wrenched the blonde's shoulder back into place, and Demyx yelped at the pain, tears glimmering briefly in his teal eyes.

"There," the pyro said, rubbing the other's shoulder, "Is that better?"

Demyx experimentally flexed his arm a bit, quickly blinking back his tears before they could fall, and then he nodded. "Yeah…thanks, Axel."

"No problem," Axel said, tugging his gloves back on now, "And don't worry too much about Xemnas, he'll probably just lapse into some long winded speech."

"Yeah," the blonde said with a small attempt at a smile, shrugging into his coat again but not zipping it up yet.

He moved quickly when Axel started to turn away, rising to his feet and catching the pyro by the wrist, "Axel…" He felt the redhead tense slightly at his touch, but he turned back to him nonetheless, starting to say something. It was then though that Demyx did something that was quite unexpected by the both of them; he stepped closer to the other and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

Though Axel was caught off guard, he didn't push the blonde away, instead he let Demyx draw away on his own. He didn't act like the kiss was unwanted, though he didn't do anything to signal that he'd liked it either. Instead, he just looked at the Melodious Nocturne, his brows drawn together slightly, "What was that for?"

"Um…" again Demyx floundered for words, looking away so that he wouldn't have to meet Axel's gaze, "A…proper thank you?"

The redhead looked at him for a moment more, his true reaction to this quite well hidden and thus hard to read. "Well, okay then," he said with what could have been a slight chuckle, turning to go again, "Take care, Demyx."

Demyx looked up when the other turned, moving forward. Again he stopped the pyro from stepping out into the rain, wrapping his arms around him from behind and leaning his forehead against his back. "_Axel…"_ he said quietly.

This time he heard Axel sigh, and he feared he was starting to push the redhead's patience, but he continued anyway.

"I don't want to be here anymore," Demyx said in a hushed tone, "I can't do this any longer."

"Demyx?" Axel said, and his frown was evident in his voice, "What are you talking about?"

"The Organization. I can't do this anymore," the blonde said miserably, "Something…something's wrong…"

He paused a moment before continuing, and Axel let him, though part of him wanted to just silence the Nocturne, to tell him to stop talking like that.

"Sometimes…I feel like Xemnas is just using us, like we're nothing but pawns to him."

Axel shifted a bit uncomfortably at this, but he wasn't about to tell Demyx that he shared these concerns, and the sense that something wasn't right anymore. "You think too much, Demyx," was what he said instead, "Just get some sleep, tomorrow'll be a better day."

"Let's leave," the Nocturne whispered suddenly, "Run away together, and forget all about the Organization."

"What?" Axel said, and he actually laughed at how absurd that idea was, "Demyx, man, did you hit your head too? You're not talking sense, just…sleep, okay?"

With that he untangled himself from the blonde, heading back out into the rain towards the Castle without looking back. If he had, he would have seen the way Demyx's shoulders slumped, and the near devastated expression that held his face in its hold. A few moments later, silent tears made their way free from teal eyes.


	2. Sanctuary

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! Yes, I took a peek at your stories and I like them, though I didn't get a chance to write any comments last night because I hadn't slept for over 24 hours, hehe. Mkay, chapter two here, not much to say, cept the next chapter will have much anguish, blood, and violence.

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**Chapter Two – "Sanctuary"**

The Melodious Nocturne lay curled up on his side, huddled beneath the blankets on his bed. He'd had to give his mission report to Xemnas before retiring for the night, of course, and the Superior had scolded him for so long. He felt so useless now, so unwanted-what did they need him for in the Organization anyway? He wasn't fit for this kind of thing; he didn't like fighting or violence.

His shoulders shook as he cried, and he was trying to be quiet, but apparently was once more failing at something as a few minutes later he heard a door open. Now, there was one of two options on who it could be-to one side of his room was the one marked VIII, and to the other, X. If it was Axel, well…he was sure he'd already pushed the pyro's patience enough today, and that he wouldn't be happy. If it was Luxord, though…well, he really hoped it wasn't. Luxord could get really cranky when someone interrupted his sleep-if they managed to awaken him at all.

A moment later there was a soft knock on the door to his room, and then it eased open, allowing in a thin strip of light from the hallway beyond. Fearing the worst, he rolled over to see who it was, scrubbing at his eyes. He could only see a partial silhouette, but it was enough for him to recognize spiky hair.

"Oh, Axel…" the blonde murmured, his voice a bit thick from crying, "I-I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's fine," Axel said, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind him again without bothering to turn on the light, "Wasn't really sleeping anyway. What's wrong?"

"I just…" Demyx started, but then shook his head, "You were right; all he did was yell at me, but I…"

The pyro ran a hand through his hair, moving over to sit down on the edge of the bed next to Demyx, "What's on your mind?"

"I…" the Nocturne started, scooting back a bit to give the other room, "I don't belong here."

Axel sighed softly, "You're back to that again?"

"_Something's not right_," Demyx insisted again, sitting up a bit, "Something's different from when I first joined. I have a…really bad feeling."

"Demyx-" the pyro started.

"You don't belong here either," the blonde interrupted, "I can see it in your eyes; you don't want to be here. You just want to see Roxas again, you want to help Sora. What happens when that gives the Superior the last reason he needs to get rid of you?"

Axel could only blink at the other Nobody, surprised that the blonde had managed to pick up on all of that. Demyx didn't really seem like the brightest member of the Organization, but…maybe now it was about time to start rethinking that assumption.

"Neither of us belong here, we'd be better off without the Organization," Demyx said.

"Yeah…until they hunted us down," Axel stated quietly.

"Then we'd go somewhere that they couldn't find us," the blonde persisted, moving back to sit up more, his gaze intense even in the dark.

"Good luck with that," Axel said, looking away for a moment, "Why are you telling _me_ all of this anyway? Why not ask Xigbar? You two're friends, right?"

Demyx blinked, blushing a bit, "Well, yeah…" he relented, "But, we're just…_friends_, and besides, does he really seem like the type to turn his back on the Organization?"

"What, and I do?" Axel said, scoffing.

"I didn't mean it like that," the blonde said quietly, quickly averting his gaze, afraid he'd offended the pyro, "It's just…I like you, Axel."

"_What?"_ the redhead could only blink. He couldn't really say he was completely surprised though; he'd begun suspecting something like that earlier in the evening, even before Demyx had kissed him.

"I like you, a lot," Demyx said, swallowing hard, though he still didn't look back to Axel, "If I was going to leave the Organization with anybody…it would be you."

"Demyx…" the pyro started, not quite sure what to think about all of this.

"So what do you say?" the blonde said, looking back to him, "Want to leave the Organization together?"

"It's not like they'd just let us walk away," Axel pointed out.

"Then we'll sneak away, no one will ever know until we're gone," Demyx persisted, "I can't stay here, I…have a really bad feeling."

"Demyx," Axel started again-the blonde was starting to raise his voice, and the pyro was worried that someone would overhear. Demyx wasn't exactly everyone's favorite member, and he was sure that someone like Saïx would just be looking for an opportunity to get rid of the blonde.

"I can't stay with the Organization!" Demyx said, starting to sound a bit panicked, "We're all going to die…I just know it."

"Demyx, calm down," the redhead said, reaching out a hand to the other's shoulder.

"When Xemnas doesn't need us anymore…we're all dead," the Nocturne said, leaning forward to grab onto Axel, "I don't want that to happen to me, or to you, please…"

He wasn't shutting up, he wasn't quieting down, he was panicking, and Axel was growing increasingly worried of what would happen should someone overhear them. So he did the first thing that came to his mind-he pulled Demyx closer, and kissed him. _That_ certainly worked, as after that the blonde could only blink at him with his mouth hanging open.

"Alright," Axel murmured, "Alright. I'll go with you."

Demyx's eyes widened, "Really?" he whispered, "You will?"

"Yeah," the redhead said, "I'm not very fond of the Organization as of late anyway."

"Thank you, Axel," Demyx said, throwing his arms around the other's shoulders.

Axel sighed, though returned the hug, "It won't be easy, you know."

Demyx drew back enough to look at him, resting his forehead against the pyro's. "With you along, it'll be no problem," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah, and why do you say that?" Axel asked, purely curious.

"Because you're good at that sort of thing," Demyx replied, "Sneaking out of the Castle and all."

"How would _you_ know?" the redhead inquired, raising a brow-if someone knew when he was sneaking out of the Castle, then he obviously wasn't very good at it, now was he?

"Well…sometimes when they're looking for you, you're just…not here. And no one saw you leave," Demyx explained with a slight shrug.

"Oh, yeah…of course," Axel said, feeling somewhat foolish for having to ask now.

The blonde nodded, drawing back to a comfortable distance, and blinked at the other, "So…when're we leaving?" he asked.

"Let's wait till morning," Axel said with a slight shake of his head, "We both need rest."

"Alright," Demyx agreed readily, "But…stay with me tonight?"

"Sure…I guess," the pyro said, blinking. He tilted his head slightly as this reminded him of something though, "So…when you say you like me a lot…?"

The Nocturne blushed deeply, averting his gaze like he had before. "I…uhm…let's just sleep, okay?"

"Demyx," Axel said quietly, brushing a hand over the blonde's cheek, "If there's something you want to say, go ahead."

Demyx still avoided his gaze, looking down to some random point on the bed, "I…I think I love you," he mumbled at last.

The redhead was quiet for a long moment, and Demyx shifted anxiously, worried about the other's reaction.

"Is that so?" Axel said at last.

"Mhmm…" the Nocturne murmured with a slight nod, his breath short, "What…what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I need to sleep," the other replied with a soft chuckle, and Demyx's shoulders slumped. "Hey, don't look so glum," Axel continued, pressing a light kiss to the blonde's forehead, "I like you too."

_Like? Like isn't what I'm looking for, Axel…._ Demyx thought to himself, but made no further comment as he laid down again. He supposed that maybe…just maybe, that would have to suffice for now. Tomorrow they were leaving the Organization, together, and they'd have all the time in the world.

If only either of them had known that a certain Luna Diviner had overheard their plans…


	3. Pieces

**A/N:** Ah, this chapter was so hard to write, especially the end. It was so painful...and I actually felt sick by the time I finished. I'm glad I'm done with this chapter though, the next ones are so much lighter and happier. A warning now, because the end is quite violent. And thank you for the review!

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**Chapter Three – "Pieces"**

_Where are you, Axel?_ The blonde thought nervously as he paced back and forth in one of the dark, rainy streets of the World That Never Was. He actually had his hood up this time, so that he wouldn't get wet, but it wasn't the rain that was making him uneasy. He couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed, but he knew that Axel was supposed to meet him here, about now. They'd decided to leave the Castle separately so no one would get suspicious if they were both found missing at the same time, and Demyx had arrived at their agreed meeting place first.

_Please don't have betrayed me…._ He knew from the past that Axel could be quite two-faced, but he'd had the sense that the redhead had been sincere last night. Though…he wouldn't be entirely sure until the other showed up…or he didn't show up. Muttering quietly to himself, Demyx turned again, pushing back his hood now because maybe the feel of the rain would be able to keep him calm and stop him from worrying so much. Just as he was about to turn to pace back in the opposite direction, he saw a black portal open up some yards in front of him, and stopped. Lifting his head a bit, he watched the portal anxiously, for a moment forgetting to breathe, until he saw the familiar redhead step through.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Axel said as the portal closed behind him.

"I…I was just worried that you…" the blonde stammered, averting his gaze.

"That I…wasn't going to come?" Axel finished for him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Wordlessly, Demyx nodded, stealing a quick glance at the pyro again.

"I told you that I was going to leave the Organization with you, and I meant it," the redhead said, walking towards the other.

Demyx blushed faintly, "I know that…now," he mumbled.

"You had doubts before?" Axel asked.

"I didn't mean it like that!" the blonde protested quietly, blushing more.

"I know," Axel said with a slight smile, sliding his fingers under Demyx's chin to tilt his head up, "We're both here now, so you don't have to worry any more," and with that he kissed the blonde lightly.

"Axel…" Demyx said afterwards, a different sort of nervousness to his voice now.

"Hmm?"

"…Do you love me?" the Nocturne asked.

Axel could only blink at him for a moment, gazing into his hopeful teal eyes. "Why don't we talk about that _after_ we decide where we're gonna go?" he suggested.

Promptly, Demyx took a step back, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest, "Why can't you tell me _now_?"

The pyro ran a hand back through his hair, "Because there'll be more time later," he said, "But think of it this way, Demyx; if I _didn't_ care, would I be here right now?"

Demyx tilted his head a bit, pouting slightly. He knew that Axel had a point, but still…. "I'd still rather hear you say it."

"Yes, number VIII, why don't you tell him?" Their conversation was interrupted by a new voice, calm and low, but with dangerous undertones. Axel looked past Demyx as a portal opened on the street some distance behind him, and quickly the Nocturne himself turned to see who it was. The blonde paled considerably at the sight of Saïx stepping through, his claymore already summoned.

"Unless you wish to wait, and tell him with your dying breath," a second voice said, smooth and mocking, as another portal opened at the opposite end of the street, "_Wouldn't that be romantic?_" The last comment was dripping with sarcasm, and the small flurry of sakura petals that swirled through the portal gave him away before Marluxia emerged, a sardonic smirk perched on his handsome face.

Axel spun at Marluxia's appearance, giving a soft growl-to say that he disliked the Graceful Assassin would be an understatement. Though it was clear from XI's comment and the fact that he too was armed, his massive scythe resting in one hand as though it were as light as a feather, that they had not come to merely return Axel and Demyx to the Castle.

The Melodious Nocturne whimpered near inaudibly, taking a small step back and bumping into Axel-he had no where else to go now, he was back-to-back with the redhead. He was currently too concerned with Saïx to even risk a glance behind him to where Marluxia was, but he didn't need to see the Assassin to know he was there after all.

_This wasn't good._

Evidently, Saïx heard Demyx's whimper, because he sneered at the Nocturne before speaking, "Under orders by Xemnas, the two of you are to be destroyed for betraying the Organization."

Demyx's eyes widened in fear-they'd overheard him and Axel talking at some point; that was the only explanation for this recent turn of events. _…This wasn't his fault, was it?_ "C-can't we just t-talk this over?" he stammered.

"Save your breath, Dem," Axel muttered over his shoulder to the blonde, "Neither of these two can be reasoned with."

Looking back to Marluxia, the redhead summoned his chakrams to him with a flurry of flames, and the Assassin only smirked again, his expression clearly showing that he was going to enjoy this.

Quivering slightly, Demyx summoned his sitar, clutching it to him like it was a shield that would protect him from Saïx, and swallowed hard. This wasn't going to go well-he wasn't a fighter, and he was going to have to fight _Saïx_? The berserker was insane, and even more insane of a fighter, there was no way the Nocturne was ever going to beat him.

Axel glanced back at the blonde again. "You _do_ know how to fight, right?" he inquired. He knew that Demyx would be far out-powered by Saïx, and he was hoping that a bit of light teasing would stir some bravery in the frightened Nocturne. Demyx just had to keep it together long enough for Axel to get Marluxia out of the picture, and then he'd be able to get rid of the Luna Diviner as well.

Demyx scoffed. "Of course I do," he managed to say without stammering, taking a step forward to hold his sitar properly.

"Good," the pyro said with a slight nod, returning his full attention to Marluxia, "And remember-stay _away_ from the pointy end of the claymore."

Demyx didn't bother to answer this time, just rolled his eyes a bit. He knew Axel was trying to make him feel better, but…it wasn't helping much. Right, he'd seen Saïx fight before, he just had to remember his tricks and favorite moves and avoid them at all costs, at the same time finding weak points and openings to strike back. Easy…_yeah, sure._

Saïx made the first move, striding towards the Nocturne, and Demyx quickly began to strum a tune on his sitar, calling pillars of water to shoot up from the city street at random points. The berserker dodged them easily though, dashing towards the blonde now. Demyx formed a wave underneath himself, using it to move out of the way-because trying to walk and play sitar at the same time…? He'd learned long ago that it wasn't a very smart idea. Making sure to keep out of Saïx's reach, the Nocturne sent a jet of water towards the other, noting with disdain that his blue haired opponent merely blocked it with his claymore.

Behind them, Axel had already initiated combat with Marluxia, at the moment jumping back to avoid being slashed in half by the Assassin's scythe. Swiftly darting to the side, the redhead threw both chakrams at Marluxia, only for both of them to be deflected by the blade of his weapon, resulting in a small shower of sparks as metal met metal. Catching his chakrams as they returned to him, Axel pivoted to the side to avoid another swipe from his opponent's scythe, slashing one weapon towards Marluxia's shoulder. One spike made contact, resulting in a bleeding gash down his arm, and the redhead smirked, jumping back out of reach again.

Demyx dove to the side as Saïx swung his claymore, rolling quickly to his feet, and spun, summoning another stream of water to crash into the Luna Diviner, knocking him back a few steps. Saïx growled in annoyance, shifting his grip on his weapon to throw the blade at Demyx, and the blonde's eyes widened as he quickly moved out of the way. The claymore stabbed into the pavement just shy of where the Nocturne had been standing, the impact force shaking the ground around it a bit, and he forced himself not to think about how close that had been.

Apparently the fact that Axel had drawn first blood had irked Marluxia, because his attacks were coming stronger and faster now, forcing the redhead to continuously dodge or risk being seriously wounded. Axel was light on his feet though, so he wasn't worried yet. His chakrams were flaming blurs as he threw them at the pink haired Nobody again, both of them once more deflected, but one sliced a shallow cut along his back on their return trip. Again this wound resulted in a strong retaliation, and Marluxia sent a flurry of razor sharp petals towards the redhead. Swiftly raising his hands as his chakrams returned, Axel used the weapons as a shield against the attack, blocking the petals before they could cause any harm.

Demyx had abruptly been forced from offensive to defensive, doing everything in his power to continue avoiding that claymore. Whenever he could, he tried to retaliate, but the attacks were always rushed and not well thought out, so they all pretty much ended up missing. He was still doing okay for now, all he had to do was keep dodging and not get hit, and maybe-_maybe_-if he was lucky, Axel would be able to help him, and th-his thought processes were interrupted then when Saïx swung his claymore around again, the end of it smashing into Demyx's right shoulder and spinning him around from the force. There was a clearly audible pop and crack, and the Nocturne cried out in pain.

It took a good deal of effort to block the petals though-they were a lot more powerful than one would think just by looking at them, and Marluxia took advantage of this, dashing forward to bring his scythe around from the side. Axel took a few swift steps back, mostly deflecting the attack with his own weapons, though the blade grazed his side, resulting in a shallow cut. His concentration on the battle was broken though when he heard Demyx's cry of pain, and at once he looked over. The blonde's right arm hung loosely-it was either dislocated or broken, and it appeared to be quite painful.

Abruptly remembering Marluxia, the redhead turned his attention back to his opponent, and not a second too soon either-he was just in time to swiftly raise his chakrams to block the Assassin's scythe. It was still too close for comfort though, the under curve of the blade temporarily caught between two spikes, and he pulled his head back a bit. This wasn't good-and Marluxia's smirk said he knew this as well-one little slip and the blade would…. Axel struggled to hold the scythe back, to push the Assassin away just long enough to move out of the way, but then-the blade slipped from where it was stuck, forcing his weapons down with it as it descended, and the tip pierced through his chest.

Demyx stumbled, holding his sitar loosely in his left hand, and happened to turn just then, his eyes widening as he tried to process what he was seeing. _No…no, no, this can't be happening…._ He made a small strangled noise as he watched Marluxia pull his scythe free, and Axel fell to his knees. Even from this distance, Demyx could see all the blood, and he felt faint.

"_NO!_" he cried, running towards the redhead, for a moment forgetting the pain in his right arm.

Abruptly, a wall of water exploded from the ground behind him, blocking Saïx's path, and another shot up on the other side of Axel, forcing Marluxia to move back. Dropping his sitar beside him when he reached the redhead, Demyx fell to his knees behind him, supporting him when he started to fall. _No, no, no, this can't be happening! Not Axel! He's so much stronger than I am, such a better fighter, it should be me, not him! _His hands were shaking as he gazed down at Axel's wound-it was bad, real bad, and it was painful just to look at, let alone realize how much it was bleeding.

"No…Axel…" Demyx whispered, tears stinging his eyes as he wrapped his left arm around the other, holding him against his chest.

The pyro tilted his head back against Demyx's shoulder to be able to look at him, his aqua-green eyes glazed over and somewhat distant. "Sorry…Demyx…looks like we…won't be running away together," he managed quietly.

The Nocturne shook his head fiercely, tears spilling down his cheeks now, "_No!_ D-don't say that! You'll be f-fine!" That lie was so obvious though, they both knew it even though they didn't want to accept it.

There was nothing he could say or do to make things any better, and he sobbed quietly as Axel began to fade, holding onto him tightly and resting his cheek on the pyro's head. As much as he wanted to reverse it, as much as he wanted to make things better, Demyx couldn't do a thing, and even though he knew it wasn't his fault, he hated himself for it. Soon Axel was gone, and the Nocturne was left clutching only air, his eyes closed tightly. He felt dazed, lightheaded, and an anguished cry escaped his lips, echoing through the darkness as the walls of water crumbled and disappeared back into the ground.

Demyx raised his head slightly, his vision blurred with tears, and looked from Marluxia to Saïx, the latter of which was slowly approaching him now. The blonde dragged himself to his feet, picking up his sitar again in his left as his right was all but useless-he was left-handed anyway-while eyeing Marluxia. It had been XI who killed Axel, and it was XI that Demyx wanted to bring pain to, but the Graceful Assassin was backing away a bit as Saïx approached.

Hearing the berserker's footsteps as he moved closer, Demyx shifted his grip on his sitar. "We just…wanted to live…" he whispered.

Spinning swiftly, the Nocturne swung his sitar around towards Saïx's head, but the other countered with a swing of his claymore. The massive blade met with Demyx's sitar, and the latter shattered from the impact, knocking the blonde off balance and causing him to stumble. His weapon…his weapon was gone…what the hell was he supposed to do now? It wasn't like he _needed_ his sitar to fight, but without it he felt temporarily lost, his mind still reeling from witnessing Axel's death. His hesitation allowed Saïx to get in another easy blow, swinging his claymore again to connect with Demyx's already dislocated arm.

The blow resulted in a few loud cracks and the blonde yelped, fresh tears coming to his eyes. He was sure that his arm was now broken in multiple places, and it throbbed in pain. He turned his gaze back to Saïx, but the demented glint in the berserker's golden eyes made the Nocturne back up a few steps.

"S-Saïx," Demyx started fearfully.

He never got to finish though, as Saïx sneered again, turning his claymore to the side, and swung it at the blonde again. The blade connected solidly, hitting Demyx in the lower chest, and knocked him back until he slammed into the side of the building behind him, his head meeting the bricks with a loud thunk. Worse than that though was the fact that the spikes on the berserker's claymore were piercing into the Nocturne's body-not all the way, though, fortunately, or they would nearly cut him in half. He screamed in pain, the sound a bit strangled as he found it hard to breathe, blood bubbling from his mouth.

Saïx pulled his claymore free, the blade accompanied by blood running down Demyx's coat. The blonde stumbled hard, grimacing in pain, and raised his good arm across the wound as he started to fall. The berserker wasn't through with him yet though, and landed a blow to Demyx's leg, snapping it, before hitting him in the back with the flat of his claymore. The force of it knocked the blonde through the boarded up window of a shop across the street.

The Nocturne yelped as he crashed through the boards, glass breaking a second later and falling all around him as he hit a chair, which broke upon impact. The breaking wood sent a large splinter stabbing through the thigh of his unbroken leg, and he cried out again, the action alighting more pain in his chest, which already felt like it was on fire. Dazed, he lifted his head, shards of glass having made multiple little cuts across his face, while more shards crunched underneath him.

He turned his fearful gaze to the hole his arrival had made in the window as he heard footsteps approaching, pushing himself up on his uninjured arm. Struggling to breathe properly, already coughing up blood that was beginning to fill his lungs, he trembled when Saïx appeared in his line of sight.

"S-Saïx," the Nocturne whimpered, trying to push himself backwards, but his hand slipped in his own blood, "P-please…"

The blue-haired berserker gave no answer as he nimbly entered through the broken window, claymore at his side.

"I just want to live," Demyx whispered hoarsely, coughing up more blood as he tried to move backwards again, tears making bloody tracks down his face, "I don't want to d-die."

He was just a kid, no more than twenty-one, probably younger, he didn't want everything to end like this. He'd wanted a better life for himself, that's why he was going to leave the Organization; he'd wanted to be free from it. Free and with the one person he'd fallen in love with-that one person who was now dead. Everything he did, he ended up doing it wrong, he'd fucked up _everything_, especially this. This was all his fault, him and his big mouth, that they had been overheard, and things had come to this.

He trembled still as Saïx approached him, pushing himself back a bit more, grimacing in pain as he tried not to choke on the blood in his lungs, "_Please_," he repeated, as forcefully as he could, which wasn't very much in his current state, "I don't want…to die…. _I'll do a-anything_."

The Luna Diviner stopped in front of him, gazing down at him with nothing but utter coldness in his eyes, and lifted his claymore, "You are to be destroyed on Xemnas's orders, former number IX," he stated emotionlessly.

"_Please…please don't…_" Demyx pleaded-he was dying already, wasn't that enough, couldn't he just be left alone?-but his words fell on deaf ears.

Saïx lifted his claymore higher, started to swing the blade straight down, and the Nocturne closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see this. There was the sound of impact, a blinding flash of pain, and then-nothing.


	4. Chances

**A/N:** Yay, chapter four! It was so nice writing this one after the horrible depressing-ness of the last chapter. This one is bright and hopeful and fluffy. Even Nobodies get second chances. So, I have quite a few ideas for future chapters still, and hopefully I'll get to them all.

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**Chapter Four – "Chances"**

White.

Silence.

Everything was so bright and serene, perfectly calm, and he sighed contently. This was so nice, so calming, he felt like he could just go back to sleep. In fact, that's what he'd started to do when a shadow suddenly fell across him, and he frowned slightly, though didn't open his eyes yet. He just hoped whatever it was that was blocking his light would move on its own and allow him to return to basking in the warmth. However, he had no such luck.

"Finally, I found you," a voice sighed, sounding relieved, "I thought you were never going to show up."

He didn't stir though, just groaned softly, getting annoyed that his peace was being interrupted.

"Hey…you're alive, right?" the voice said again, and a hand suddenly touched his shoulder.

At once, a jumble of seemingly random images flashed before his closed eyes, some of them peaceful, others brutal, and he gasped, his eyes flying open. He couldn't process what he was seeing at first-a person was leaning over him, there was a sky beyond, some other shapes that could be trees, but it didn't make sense just yet, his eyes couldn't quite focus. Panicked and feeling threatened, he thrashed violently, slapping the hand from his shoulder, and tried-failed-to scramble to his feet.

"Hey, hey!" the person said, grabbing for his wrists before he could hurt either of them, "Calm down! It's me!"

That only made him struggle more, his breathing growing erratic until he seemed to be close to hyperventilating, his mind overloaded with the stream of images from before. _Calm down?_ He was _not_ going to calm down, not until he knew what was going on and who this person was.

"_Demyx! Calm. Down_." They stated firmly, giving him a slight shake.

He stopped still at that, his brows furrowing in confusion. _Demyx?_ Who was that? That name was…vaguely familiar to him, causing another brief stream of images that didn't make much sense.

"Tha-that's not my name," he managed, blinking up at the figure above him.

Now that his vision was clearing, and he could finally focus, he realized that he was gazing up at a guy. A very _pretty_ guy, with silken red hair that fell to his shoulders and vibrant green eyes. They seemed familiar…almost.

The guy smiled gently, obviously trying not to frighten him again, "Alright, then what _is_ your name?" he asked.

He gazed up at the redhead for a moment longer, blinking. "It…It's Myde," he said at last.

The redhead smiled again, as if this confirmed something, "Well, Myde, I'm Lea," he said, stepping back to lightly pull the brunette to his feet.

"Lea?" Myde repeated, shaking some of his messy hair back from his teal eyes, "Isn't that a girl's name?"

"Obviously not," Lea said with a playful roll of his eyes, letting go of the brunette's wrists.

"You look…a _lot_ like a girl," Myde commented after studying him for a moment, seeming to be starting to calm down already.

The redhead just smiled patiently and then shrugged, "Yeah, so I've been told," he said.

Feeling safe enough, Myde took that moment to finally take in his surroundings. It seemed that they were in a park, specifically on a gentle hill with a large oak tree near the top, and the whole area also surrounded by trees. It was nice and quiet, peaceful, but so far none of this explained how he had ended up here, or why this guy was acting like he knew him.

"Do you…recognize me at all?" Lea asked, tilting his head slightly and jamming his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Myde looked back to him, frowning a bit, "Not…really. Should I…?"

The redhead's shoulders slumped, and he sighed, "I was afraid of this," he said.

"Afraid of what?" Myde asked in confusion, blinking a few times, "Have we met before? I'm sorry. I just…don't really know much at all right now, like, how did I end up here?"

Lea freed a hand from a pocket to scratch lightly at his hair, "You don't remember _anything_?"

The brunette hesitated before answering again-what about those bits of…whatever they'd been, that he'd seen? None of those people had been him though; at least, he didn't think so…. "…No," he replied somewhat timidly, shaking his head a bit.

Lea sighed again, "Talk about blank with a capital "B"."

Myde frowned a bit, still not understanding what was going on at all, and turned away to look towards the large oak, lacing his fingers together somewhat nervously. Behind him, he could hear the redhead take a few steps forward, and all of a sudden wrapped his arms around Myde. The brunette tensed in surprise as Lea rested his chin in his shoulder, and started to pull away when the other spoke.

"It's me…_Axel_," he whispered, his warm breath tickling Myde's ear.

Myde's eyes widened a bit at that name, a few more brief images tumbling through his thoughts like discarded photos; a blonde, a taller redhead beside him, lively green eyes, and spiky hair.

"A-Axel?" he repeated faintly, blinking finally. That name caused a fluttering within his heart-yes; there was a connection, though he still couldn't exactly place it.

"Yeah," Lea said, hugging the brunette closer, "_Looks like we ran away together after all_."

Myde's eyes widened more, pieces starting to fall into place, and he twisted around in the redhead's arms to face him. "It's _you_…" he whispered.

"Yeah," Lea said with a small smile, "Do you remember now?"

"…A bit," the brunette said, nodding slightly, "Not much, but…I know you."

"Well…I guess that's good enough for now," Lea said, still smiling, and brushed a bit of Myde's hair back from his eyes, "You'll remember more with time."

Slowly, so as not to startle the brunette, Lea leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Myde's cheeks flushed scarlet, but after a moment, he shyly returned the kiss. Drawing back afterwards, Lea took the brunette by the hand.

"If it's okay with you," he said slowly, "I'd like to take you back to my apartment. You'll need some place to stay anyway."

Myde blushed again, but nodded, "That's fine," he said.

"Alright," Lea smiled again, starting to lead the brunette through the park, "It's an alright place, I'm pretty sure you'll like it."

"I think I'd like a-any place with you in it," Myde mumbled, averting his gaze shyly.

Lea chuckled softly, sliding an arm loosely around Myde's waist, "That's the spirit."


	5. Darkness

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! Hehe, Dem will regain his memories eventually, though it's not going to be a pleasant experience for him~

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**Chapter Five – "Darkness"**

"It's…nice," Myde said honestly as he moved shyly from one room to the other.

It _was_ nice; Lea's apartment wasn't the largest, but there was a good sized kitchen that felt larger than it was due to it being open to the equally good sized living room. Then there was the bathroom, a single bedroom, a room that seemed to be a 'whatever' type room, and then the washroom of sorts, with the washer and dryer.

"I'm glad you think so," Lea said with a small smile as he trailed along behind the brunette.

On their return trip to the kitchen though, Myde suddenly noticed the few potted ferns that resided in the connected living room. Of course, what he noticed most about them was the fact that they were all in various states of dying or withering.

"Your plants!" the brunette said, making his way over to one of the ferns and inspecting it, "They're dying!"

"Eh, yeah," Lea said with a sheepish grin, scratching idly at his hair, "I've been kind of busy lately."

"Plants don't need that much attention," Myde fussed, moving to one of the other ferns, "All they need is some water, and sunlight, and you know, they like it if you talk to them. They like music too."

Lea raised a brow as he watched the brunette, "Since when did you become so concerned about _plants_?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Myde said, turning back to him and shrugging, "I just…like them. Would you happen to have a pitcher?"

"Yeah, under the sink," the redhead said, moving to get it.

"Thanks," Myde said, taking the yellow plastic pitcher and filling it with water.

Lea crossed his arms, leaning back against the counter as he watched Myde tend to the plants. He smiled softly, shaking his head a bit, "I hope you care about me as much as you do those ferns," he commented.

Myde blushed again, grateful that his back was to the redhead, "Of c-course," he replied as he watered one of the plants in question.

"Good to know," Lea said, nodding slightly.

There were a few moments of silence as Lea continued to watch Myde, mulling over things, and the brunette took this quiet to get his blush under control before finally turning back to the redhead and setting the nearly empty pitcher on the counter.

"You can sleep on the couch for now, if you're more comfortable with that," Lea said, brushing a hand back through his hair to free it from his eyes.

"Y-yeah, that sounds good," Myde said shyly, nodding in agreement.

Sure, that was what he said now, but later, when it got dark, and Lea went to bed, Myde started to get anxious. Though he was quite comfortable on the couch, this was an unfamiliar place, and that alone made him a little nervous. It was worse though when he started to fall asleep. As soon as he nodded off, his peace was invaded by nightmares. Flashes of horrible images; blood and death and despair, involving that ever familiar blonde, and he awoke with a loud gasp, sitting up and looking quickly around the dark living room.

Shivering a bit, he pulled the blanket up to his chin, eyes still darting about. Though he was awake now, he could still see those horrible nightmares, could almost _smell_ the blood and death. Pushing the blanket aside, he rose from the couch, debating for a second on whether or not to pull his shirt on, since he still wore his pants-he didn't have any other clothes currently, after all-but then decided against it.

Myde hesitated there though; would Lea mind? The way his imagination was making the shadows seem like they were coming alive spurred him to quickly move through the living room and hurry down the hallway to the bedroom. He eased the door open and slid inside, closing it after him, but paused again, biting his lip. He was nervous, the way a small child would be when they feared upsetting their parents by climbing into bed with them, but knew they couldn't go back out and sleep alone in the other room.

Nonetheless though, he finally got the nerve to move across the room to the side of the bed. "…Lea?" he said quietly, gently prodding the redhead in the shoulder.

Lea stirred a bit, mumbling something that Myde didn't quite catch, but otherwise remained asleep, and the brunette fidgeted a bit, glancing quickly around the dark room before looking back to Lea.

"_Lea?_" Myde said again, prodding his shoulder a bit harder this time.

The redhead groaned a bit, finally awakening, and rolled over, pushing back loose strands that had escaped the ponytail he threw his hair into at night. "Myde?" he mumbled sleepily, "What's wrong?"

"…Nightmares," the brunette confessed, fidgeting again, "And I don't like the dark. …Can I sleep with you?"

"Yeah, of course," Lea said, moving the covers aside and patting the bed next to him.

Grateful, Myde scurried around the bed, sliding in, and pulled the blankets up. "Thank you," he murmured.

"Don't worry about it," Lea said with a yawn, "…Nightmares?"

The brunette hesitated a moment, and then shook his head. He _really_ didn't want to discuss them.

"Oooh," Lea said, as though he understood, "_Those_ kind of nightmares. Don't worry about them, everything's okay now."

He wrapped his arms around Myde, and for a second, the brunette tensed. He relaxed after a few moments though, allowing himself to be held close, and leaned his forehead against Lea's bare shoulder-the redhead slept shirtless as well. Lea brushed his fingers through the other's soft brown hair, lightly kissing the side of his head.

"Go back to sleep now, Myde," he said softly, "Everything's all right."

Myde felt safer now, and as he let his eyes slip shut again, he knew that he wasn't going to be having any more nightmares-at least, not this time.


	6. Love

**A/N:** Ah, I had such fun writing this chapter, hehe. Next chapter we have an appearance from another Organization member! Who actually DOESN'T want to cause trouble for Lea and Myde. Three guesses on who THAT could be, khehe. Sadly, next chapter I also bring a bit of pain. And FYI, for their ages, I put Myde at about 19, while Lea's around 23, significance of this comes up when Myde's referred to as a teen.

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**Chapter Six – "Love"**

Myde fidgeted a bit more, gazing at himself in the mirror, before finally leaving the bathroom. He was still getting used to these clothes-Lea had insisted that he couldn't wear the ones he'd shown up in, and so now Myde was wearing some of the redhead's. Lea apparently liked his shirts tight, so the black muscle shirt Myde wore fit nicely-not that he really had anything to show-but the jeans were a bit too long, so he'd rolled them up to be able to see his feet. The hoodie was a bit too big as well, but that was just fine with Myde-that was how he preferred them.

Now, Lea chuckled a bit to himself as he watched Myde continuously pushing up the sleeves to his hoodie so that he could eat his cereal without the cuffs falling into the milk. He had to admit that the brunette looked awfully cute in his clothes, even though they weren't quite his style-Myde had shown up in jeans and a large, baggy shirt that was unflattering for his slender form-or maybe because of it. After a while though, Myde finally seemed to realize that he was being laughed at, and looked up, the spoon hovering halfway to his mouth, and blinked at Lea.

"What?" he asked self-consciously.

"I'm just wondering why you don't just roll the sleeves up if they keep getting in your way," Lea said with a small smile and a shake of his head.

Myde blushed a bit, "They're not in my way," he protested quietly, taking another bite of his cereal.

"Okay, if you say so," the redhead, getting up and heading to the sink to clean up his own cereal bowl and such.

Myde just continued blushing, hurriedly finishing his breakfast. Ignoring Lea's raised eyebrow, the brunette dropped his bowl in the sink, moving to turn on the water when he heard movement behind him, and froze. The redhead paused behind him, ever so gently nuzzling the back of Myde's neck, and the younger drew in a sharp breath, turning his head a bit.

"L-Lea?" he said, already sounding shy and unsure.

Lea gave no answer, just turned the brunette and pushed him back lightly, angling him so that the counter was behind him instead of the sink. Myde's cheeks flushed crimson, and he opened his mouth to speak again, but Lea leaned in and kissed him. Taking advantage of Myde's already open mouth, the redhead slid his tongue inside, lightly exploring. The brunette's eyes widened a bit, and he blushed more, but he gave no protest to this, shyly returning the kiss, his tongue moving against Lea's.

Myde felt slightly awkward, solely for the fact that he'd never been intimate with anyone before and _especially_ had never kissed a guy-or anyone-like this. Lea didn't seem to mind-or notice-though, not at all. His hands slid down to the brunette's hips, and he easily lifted the younger up onto the counter, bringing them now to the same height-Lea was a good six inches taller than Myde, after all-his lips moving to the teen's neck. Myde gasped softly at the kisses, tilting his head back, and moved to wrap his legs around Lea's waist, pulling him closer and earning a quiet purr from the redhead.

Worming his fingers under Myde's jacket and shirt, Lea ran his hands up the brunette's back, his warm touch seeming to alight sparks in his body. That though, was nothing compared to the redhead's mouth against his neck as he sucked tenderly on his skin, working towards leaving a mark. Myde brought his trembling hands up to tangle his fingers in Lea's silken hair as he leaned his head back against the cabinets behind him, his teal eyes slipping shut.

"Lea," Myde whimpered, overwhelmed by all of these sensations but really trying to focus because there was something he wanted to ask the redhead.

Lea's only response was a murmured _'hmm?'_ against the brunette's neck as he continued his actions, his hands sliding around to the younger's front. Myde's stomach tensed as the redhead rubbed his hands over his chest, but it wasn't in an unpleasant way. The brunette, however, could not focus _nearly_ as well as he needed to be able to speak right now, not with Lea's fiery touch.

"_L-Lea!"_ he gasped out again, trying to sound more forceful this time, hopefully enough to really get the redhead's attention.

Clearly reluctant, the one in question drew back a little, resting his hands on the brunette's sides, "What is it?"

"I'm trying to _think_, and I can't, not with you…" Myde didn't finish, shaking his head and trying to catch his breath.

Lea raised an eyebrow, flashing a playful smirk, "Then stop trying to," he said with a slight purr.

"No," the younger protested, putting his hands on Lea's shoulders, "There's something I need to ask you."

The redhead caught Myde's serious tone this time, and frowned, "What would that be?"

"…Do you love me?" Myde asked, gazing directly into the other's deep green eyes.

Lea blinked in surprise-he hadn't been expecting _that_ of all things. "That's…sudden," he managed.

"Please…I need to know," the brunette said, and there was almost anguish in his voice this time.

At once, Lea knew where this was coming from; Myde was remembering more, and right now he was feeling what Demyx had, that time ago. He was feeding off the doubts and insecurities of his past life that had been born when Demyx had died never knowing if his affection for Axel was returned. This knowledge caused a sick feeling in the pit of Lea's stomach-he'd thought he had gotten over all of his regret for that day a long time ago-he'd existed here for months before Myde had turned up, after all. Months that he had remembered everything that had happened, had accepted it-so he thought-and moved on-again, so he thought.

"Myde…" Lea said softly, sliding his hands from the brunette's shirt and resting them instead on the counter top, "I'm…so sorry that I never told you."

Myde watched him silently, tilting his head a bit as he unwound his legs from the redhead's waist, and anxiously waited for him to continue.

"I should have just said it, it wouldn't have been that hard really," Lea said with a sigh, averting his gaze for a moment, "But I was afraid-and far too prideful to admit that fear."

"Lea…?" the younger asked in a whisper, his breath coming short now.

With a small smile, the redhead looked back to him, "I love you, Myde."

Myde felt his heart nearly stop at those words, and for a moment, he struggled to speak, "You…do…?"

"I do," Lea confirmed with a nod, his smile growing, "I really do."

Joy, overwhelming joy, that's what Myde felt now, and without warning, he threw his arms around Lea, hugging him tightly and burying his face against the crook of the redhead's neck. "I love you too, Lea," he said, his voice slightly muffled but still understandable, "I love you so much."

"I know," Lea said, returning the embrace and kissing the side of Myde's head, "We're together now, that's what matters, right?"

Wordlessly, the brunette nodded, still clinging tightly to Lea like a small, frightened child.

"Nothing's going to happen," Lea assured him, running his fingers through Myde's hair, "Okay?"

"Okay," he relented after a moment, giving a small smile of his own.


	7. Past

**A/N:** Thank you for the review! Those were good possibilities, I never even considered them, hehe. But maybe I'll try to include them in future chapters, since I think they'd be neutral towards Lea and Myde too~

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**Chapter Seven – "Past"**

There was a quiet sense of peace in the apartment after Lea's confession, and Myde was quite content-for now-as he lay sprawled on the couch, just blinking up at the ceiling. Soon they were going to go out and buy Myde some clothes of his own-at least, that's what Lea said-though for now the redhead was currently busy in the washroom, taking care of some laundry. This peace was soon to be broken though, by a very unexpected arrival.

In gazing up at the ceiling, Myde abruptly noticed that a spot in the kitchen seemed to be getting darker, a swirl of black and purple that he only caught from the corner of his eye, and he frowned, his heart starting to race. Slowly, he sat up, peering over the back of the couch into the kitchen. There was…a vortex, a portal, opening, and after a moment, a figure emerged, the swirling colors swiftly fading out. Myde's eyes widened drastically as he blinked at the figure that now stood there-scar, missing eye, two-toned hair, but most of all, his attention was drawn to the _coat._ He knew that coat, that uniform.

All at once, he screamed-a very shrill, girly sounding scream-earning a look of utter surprise from the golden-eyed man. Promptly after that though, Myde fell off the couch, landing on the floor, and cowered there, an instant rush of images-memories, he understood now-tumbling through his mind. No, no, _no,_ this guy was from the Organization-though Myde couldn't place exactly who he was yet. He…seemed familiar, but the brunette's memory still lacked so much on the past.

"Lea!" he wailed, as if his first scream of terror hadn't alerted the redhead.

Lea appeared briefly in the doorway from the hall, paled, and then vanished again for a moment, going to retrieve his baseball bat from the bedroom. What good it would do, exactly, was unknown-but hey; it was the thought that counted, right?

"_Lea!"_ Myde repeated, nearly drowning out the man's attempts to reassure the young brunette who was quivering on the floor now with his hands over his head in some futile effort of protection.

"Whoa, calm down, dude. I'm not going to hurt you."

Armed with his baseball bat that would be all but useless in this situation, Lea reappeared then, looking from their visitor to the couch, where he could just see a bit of Myde's brown hair.

"_Fucking hell, Xigbar,"_ the redhead cursed, "What the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

Looking over, the Freeshooter could definitely see what remained of Axel reflected in the younger man's currently fiery green eyes. "I just wanted to see how you two were doing, I had no idea he was gonna freak out like this," he said, gesturing towards where Myde was.

_Xigbar…?_ Why did that name sound vaguely familiar? He couldn't quite figure it out yet, but he felt as if the answer were right on the tip of his tongue, and it would come to him soon. Moving his hands, Myde peeked up a bit, looking towards where he could see Lea standing, and then back towards where he could see the Organization guy's feet. Deciding it was an acceptable risk, the brunette scrambled to his feet, quickly scurrying over to Lea and wrapping his arms around the redhead.

"You wouldn't fucking know _anything_," Lea growled, sliding an arm protectively around Myde as the younger trembled, hiding his face against Lea's shoulder, "Because you're not part of our lives anymore. Wait…" he added with furrowed brows as something abruptly occurred to him, "You _knew_ we were here? Have you been watching us?"

"Of course not," Xigbar scoffed, but there was a slight guilty tone to his words that said otherwise.

"_Fucking hell_," the redhead repeated, pulling Myde closer against his side, "Does anyone else know?"

"Definitely not," the Freeshooter replied honestly, "You wouldn't still be alive if they did."

"Good, and keep it that way," Lea snapped, "We're _through_ with that life."

Myde moved his head a bit to be able to gaze at Xigbar-something…was coming back to him, a few fragments of memories, and he trembled a little less than before.

"…Xiggy…" the brunette said.

That one simple sound caused both Lea and the Freeshooter to turn their attention to him, falling silent from their previous conversation, and their sudden gazes in turn caused Myde to blush crimson. However, he managed to continue.

"I remember you…kind of. W-we were friends," Myde said, feeling brave enough to pull away from Lea a little bit, though the redhead resisted the action.

"Yeah, that's right," Xigbar said with a small nod.

The brunette moved a little closer to the Nobody, his eventual goal to hug the other, but before he could, there was suddenly a crushing pain in his lower chest, and he gave a strangled cry, doubling over. He wrapped his arms around himself, managing to suck in a breath before the pain washed over him again. There was a rushing sound in his ears, nearly completely blotting out the voices that suddenly echoed around him, and black gloved hands reached out to catch him before he could fall. As he struggled to breathe with the sharp stabs of pain that felt like they were lancing into his lungs, he could barely make out the sound of a small clatter as Lea dropped his baseball bat against the kitchen floor.

"Give him to me," the redhead snarled, his voice laced with unmasked panic as he slapped Xigbar's hands away, "Let go!"

The Freeshooter's response was drowned out when Myde gave another agonized wail, his legs buckling and giving out on him. Lea tried futilely to hold the brunette up, but ended up on his knees next to the teen, trying somehow to comfort him even though he had no idea what was wrong to start with. Myde closed his eyes tightly, tears still finding their way to freedom as he gasped without being able to draw in any air. He couldn't breathe for a moment, the pain was too intense. The next moment though, he could breathe all too well.

Just as he was able to get some air into his lungs again, he was suddenly choking and coughing. Lea pulled him awkwardly into his arms as the brunette writhed in pain, violent coughs wracking his thin frame, and watched in horror as deep crimson suddenly stained the tiles. Blood. Myde was coughing up blood. In between choking and gasping, the brunette was also now whimpering and begging nearly incoherently for someone to make the pain stop.

"_Leave_," Lea growled through gritted teeth as he suddenly swung his gaze back to Xigbar, his green eyes wild and pained, "Get the fuck out of here. There's nothing you can do for him, so just _go_."

Without bothering to wait for a response from the utterly stunned and clearly worried Freeshooter, the redhead turned his attention back to Myde as the teen choked again, spitting up more blood. _What was wrong? What the fuck was wrong with him?_ Lea wished he knew, so he could make it stop, but all he could do right now was try to hold on to the brunette and attempt to soothe him until whatever it was passed. Someone else might have thought to try and get Myde to the hospital, but he'd been absolutely _fine_ a second ago, things didn't make sense.

Myde's body gave a particularly violent jerk as pain coursed through him, and he nearly twisted himself out of the redhead's arms as Lea tried to hold him close without accidentally causing more pain. At least the brunette wasn't coughing up blood anymore, Lea suddenly realized after a moment, and if his slowly diminishing struggles were any sign, the pain was starting to fade too. He was still fighting to breathe though, and the redhead pulled him closer, shifting to sit fully on the floor-grateful when his back hit the wall.

"Myde, you're going to be okay, you hear me?" Lea said, managing to hook one arm just under both of the brunette's, feeling his thin chest heaving with each labored breath, "You're going to be okay."

Myde was still whimpering and begging with a jumble of words, but he managed to nod a bit, trying to acknowledge that he heard and understood the redhead. He squirmed about a bit until he was more or less laying semi-curled up on his side, draped over Lea's long legs with one shoulder somewhat digging into the redhead's stomach, but the older didn't mind, or even notice much, right now. Lea wrapped his other arm around Myde's back, laying his hand on the brunette's head to cradle him close against his chest so that Myde could hear his heartbeat.

"You're going to be alright now, just breathe," Lea said, fighting to keep the panic from his voice, "Just focus on breathing, in, and out, nice and even."

The brunette drew his knees up a bit more, his hands moving to tightly grip Lea's arms, and the redhead could tell that Myde was struggling to do as he said, though he was still gasping erratically. His heart was hammering as fast as a humming bird's, the rapid beats distinct against Lea's forearm that was pressed over Myde's chest.

Lea tilted his head back against the wall, tangling his fingers lightly through Myde's hair as he tried to remain as calm as possible himself to serve as an example for the tortured brunette.

"Breathe nice and slow, like me," he said, "Deep, and calm. You're alright now."

This was like dealing with someone who was having an asthma attack but didn't have their medicine, like that one movie, with the aliens and the farmhouse, the name of it escaped him right now though for quite obvious reasons. Yeah, this was a lot like that, except Myde didn't _have_ asthma, or any other kind of problem like that-to state again, Lea had no idea what the _hell_ was going on. It was working though, Myde was starting to breathe better, drawing in shaking deep breaths and letting them out slowly, tears streaking freely down his face.

"That's good, Myde, that's good," Lea said with a sigh of relief, stroking his fingers through the teen's hair.

"_Lea_," the brunette managed to choke out after another minute, his voice hoarse and thick with tears, "Oh _god_, Lea."

"What…the _fuck_ was that?" Lea asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Myde just shook his head a bit, tears falling faster as he tried to focus on the sound of the redhead's heartbeat to calm himself, "I can't…_I just can't…_"


	8. Comfort

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait for an update! I got distracted by other things, such as some DymexBraig fics that I might post up here, but seeing as they're based on RPs, I'd need to add in some background info. Anyway, thank you for the review. Well, we'll just have to find out what's wrong with Myde-it maaaaay partially be just from memories though~

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**Chapter Eight – "Comfort"**

The brunette had cried himself out by now, had no more tears to give today, and sat passively on the edge of the bed while Lea tried to figure out if there was anything wrong with him. Myde's jacket and shirt-technically Lea's clothes-lie on the bed beside him as the redhead carefully inspected his chest. There were no bruises or visible wounds, and when he ran his hands over the brunette's ribs-causing Myde to suck in a breath as the action tickled-there was nothing broken. Continued inspection further proved that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Myde-at least, not that Lea could see.

With a small sigh, Lea sat down on the bed next to the brunette, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, "Do you have…any idea what could have caused that?" he asked quietly.

Myde neither gave a positive or negative answer, just averted his gaze away from Lea, biting his lip softly.

There were things that Lea still didn't know, that he had to take into consideration-such as…what had happened after Axel had faded, and…how exactly Demyx had died. There was any number of unknown factors that could be responsible for the phantom agony that had gripped the brunette just earlier. Apparently most of these things were still a mystery to Myde as well, from how he hadn't recognized Lea at first, to how he'd reacted when he'd seen Xigbar.

"That's all right then," Lea said, placing a soft kiss to Myde's temple, "You don't have to talk about it."

"_Lea…_" the younger whispered, pulling away a bit to shift so that he could semi-face the redhead, "I…I _suffered…_"

Lea could only gaze at him, his eyes widening a fraction, and he waited silently for him to continue.

"You…you were lucky, compared…" Myde looked away, down to the floor, swallowing back more tears, "Marluxia was merciful with you, but I…I…"

"Merciful?" the redhead repeated, "This is _Marluxia_ we're talking about, he's not known for being _merciful_."

Myde opened his mouth to speak again, but was swiftly cut off by Lea, who didn't seem to even notice.

"He was only _merciful_ because you blocked him off," Lea continued, "But I saw the intentions in his eyes."

Myde's own eyes widened a bit, and he scooted farther back from Lea, the redhead's arm dropping away from his shoulders.

"If you hadn't separated us, he would have gladly hacked me limb from limb," the older said.

"_Lea…_" the brunette started in a strangled whisper-he didn't want to hear this; he didn't want his mind to conjure horrible images from these words.

"He would have taken pleasure in causing me as much pain as possible, it's no secret that we never 'got along'," Lea went on, again seeming not to notice Myde's protest, "He would have enjoyed cleaving-"

"Lea!" Myde shouted, his voice trembling as he moved farther away, wrapping his arms around himself, "You…you _jerk_, I don't want to hear that!"

At once, the redhead fell silent, blinking in surprise at Myde. He realized than that he shouldn't have said what he did, but he hadn't really thought about it before speaking. That was typical of him-saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and ending up upsetting someone unintentionally.

"I'm sorry," he tried to amend his mistake, reaching out a hand to the brunette's shoulder.

Myde started to move away from his touch, but Lea wasn't going to have any of that. The redhead pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Myde's shoulders. The younger allowed him to after a moment, hanging his head a bit so that he wouldn't have to meet Lea's gaze. He was shivering slightly, both from being slightly chilled, and from the redhead's previous words, and he was grateful when Lea pulled him onto his lap, cradling him close, though he still refused to meet the older's deep green eyes.

"I'm sorry, Myde," he apologized again, holding the brunette against his chest, "I wasn't thinking."

"I know you weren't," Myde mumbled, sounding somewhat cross with him.

"I'm sorry," Lea repeated, running a hand through the brunette's hair.

The younger was quiet for a long moment. "That just…that wasn't…that didn't help, Lea. At all," he sighed after another moment.

"I know," the redhead said quietly, "Forgive me?"

He bent his head to place a kiss against the back of Myde's neck, causing the brunette to shiver slightly.

"I don't know…" Myde said, still sounding sullen.

Lea slid his fingers under the brunette's chin, tilting his head back enough to kiss him. Myde blushed, but returned the kiss, shifting about a bit so that he wouldn't cramp his neck. The older inclined his head slightly, tracing the tip of his tongue along the brunette's lips, and on instinct, Myde opened his mouth slightly, shyly. He was whimpering softly into the kiss now as Lea once again explored the inside of his mouth, memorizing him.

The redhead stroked one hand along Myde's bare back, breaking the kiss to trail a line of smaller ones down the younger's neck. The brunette's breath hitched in his chest as Lea began to suck on the side of his neck, a bit rougher than before, more insistent. A breathy moan escaped Myde's lips, and the redhead shifted about to lay him back against the bed, leaning over him. Lea's hands roamed the brunette's body, skating over his chest, stomach and sides, but it wasn't until they drifted lower, to his hips, that Myde shifted uncomfortably.

"Lea…" he said softly, his hands moving to the redhead's shoulders, pushing against him gently.

He groaned against the side of Myde's neck, as before drawing back reluctantly, "What is it?" he asked patiently.

"I just…" the brunette started shyly, blushing a bit, "Just…not now."

Lea sighed, but then smiled softly, "Alright, Myde," he said, leaning down again and placing a kiss against the younger's forehead.

"And Lea?" the brunette said, sitting up and scooting over to rest his feet on the floor.

"Yeah?" he asked as he stood and stretched, twisting about to face Myde again.

"I forgive you," Myde said.

Lea smiled again, much more genuine this time, "Thanks."


	9. Patience

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! Of course it's too much to ask for Lea to actually think before he speaks xD But maaaaybe he'll actually learn at some point-at least for Myde's sake~

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**Chapter Nine – "Patience"**

They'd gone out shopping-innocent enough, right? What could happen to cause any trouble, right? There was just people, and boxed goods and fruits, every day things like that. Couldn't possibly be anything to upset anyone…right? Oh, how wrong that assumption was.

Everything started off innocent enough, with Myde happily perusing the shelves, picking up this and that when something captured his attention. Lea strolled along some distance behind him, actually shopping and putting things in the cart that were needed around his apartment. Besides the fact that Myde rarely picked up something that they were seriously going to buy, he was pretty fun to go shopping with, Lea discovered.

The brunette would crack jokes about some of the particularly silly things that were on sale-or some of the equally silly people they passed, and Lea would do everything in his power to hold his laughter under control-especially if it was about another shopper. Eventually though, Myde quieted down, saying he was going to go check out the CDs in the electronics section while Lea got to some serious shopping. That, however, was when everything went bad.

Myde was engrossed in scanning the back of a rock CD, not really paying attention to his surroundings. People passed by now and then, and he set the CD down, moving over to pick up another one. Just as he was starting to study the back of it like he had with the first, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and looked up, prepared to step aside if he was in someone's way. What he saw though, made him freeze in place, his heart leaping into his throat where it proceeded to steal his voice.

He barely even saw the teenage girl's face, didn't notice her confused frown at his horrified expression, no, all he could focus on was her _hair_, and he was so absorbed by that one simple detail that he didn't really see anything else at all. _Pink._ Her hair was _pink_, and there was only one thing he could think of, one person it reminded him of, and fear flashed through him, seizing him in its grasp. The CD case slipped from his hands, clattering against the floor, and he backed up swiftly, a strangled cry escaping his lips.

Another step back, and he hit a free standing display of music, tripping then. He let out a piercing scream as he fell, taking down the rack behind him and scattering its contents across the floor. The commotion he made was at once heard by Lea, who paused a moment before realizing he recognized that voice. Thinking that Myde was in trouble, that someone was threatening him, the redhead left his cart where it was, dashing through the aisles back to the electronics section. What he found though, was the brunette quivering on the floor while a very confused and embarrassed teenage girl backed away from him.

"Myde? Myde, what's wrong, what happened?" Lea asked, equally as confused as the girl.

Myde wasn't able to form a coherent reply though, he just kept staring at some point in space, and Lea quickly tried to follow his gaze, finally figuring out that he was staring at the girl's hair.

The connection wasn't immediately obvious to him though, and he turned to the girl, since he wasn't getting any answers from Myde and she seemed to be involved in this somehow, "What happened?"

"…He just _looked_ at me and freaked out," she said, shaking her head and backing up some more, "Is there something wrong with him?"

"I didn't think there was," Lea said with a sigh, trying to ignore the steadily increasing crowd that was starting to form around them. Turning back to Myde, he knelt down beside the frightened brunette to be at the same level, and pitched his tone towards reassuring when he spoke again, trying to figure out what had set him off, "Myde…what happened?"

Finally the younger tore his gaze away from the fixed point in space, since the girl had slipped off by now, and looked to Lea. "H-hair…" he managed, "Pink hair, j-just like…"

He didn't finish, but he didn't have to for the redhead to get what he meant. He heaved another sigh as he raked his hands back through his hair, "All of this…over the _color of her hair?_" he said, the reassuring tone dropping from his voice, "Dammit, Myde, you can't freak out over every person who has pink hair."

The brunette gazed up at him, a wounded look immediately entering his eyes, and he started to babble out some form of an apology or an explanation, but Lea didn't seem to hear him.

"Why? Why freak out?" the redhead demanded, making sure to keep his voice hushed due to the crowd that was ringed around them, "You don't have anything to worry about here."

Myde blinked up at him for a moment, quickly gathering his composure to be able to speak, "I…I just…everything we've been through…" he started.

"I know what we've been through dammit," Lea said, struggling now to keep his voice down-though someone was sure to overhear and think them both insane, "We _both _died, after all. But they're _not_ here, and they _won't_ be here."

It was all coming back in a jumble now, a mix of images that started out of sequence, slowly finding their proper order-his reason for fearing pink hair, for fearing…. Tears blurred his teal eyes, and he continued to cower there, gazing up at Lea. "But I _watched_ you d-" he started again, this time in a whisper though.

"Myde…" the redhead interrupted him, his tone even but with a sense of such seriousness that the teen fell silent at once, "Please don't cause a scene like this again-it's embarrassing."

The brunette gazed at him for a long moment, processing what the other was saying, struggling to hold back his tears. "Fine," he whispered, forcing himself to his feet and pushing past Lea, "I can see that you don't even care about me at all right now."

"Myde," Lea called after him with a sigh, rising to stand as well and turning slightly.

He continued walking as if he hadn't heard the redhead though, and Lea sighed again, running a hand back through his hair.

"I'm…sorry about the mess," he apologized, gesturing to the fallen CD rack, and then hurried to catch up to Myde before he got too far ahead.

No matter how hard he tried, the brunette refused to speak to him for the rest of the day, and Lea was quite persistent about it. If he asked Myde's opinion about an item the redhead was planning on buying, the teen would either nod or shake his head-or just not respond at all. It was clear that he was upset with Lea, though he held fast to his decision that the brunette had over-reacted for no real reason and shouldn't have made such a scene. Myde wouldn't even _look_ at him after a while, turning his head to the side as they walked, seeming to always be interested in something, anything, other than Lea.

The silence persisted while they checked out, while they loaded the groceries into Lea's car-or rather, Lea did, as Myde promptly situated himself in the passenger seat with a slam of the door and refused to help-and during the drive back. The redhead wasn't even bothering to try and start a conversation with the teen any more, and they carried the groceries up to his apartment in continued silence, but at least when they got there, Myde helped put things away.

Finally though, it got to the point where Lea couldn't take it any more, and he cornered the brunette in the kitchen, slamming his hands down on the counter on either side of Myde with more force than he originally intended. Startled, Myde flinched, twisting about to face the redhead with wide eyes, but still, he said nothing.

"Why are you giving me the silent treatment?" Lea asked, leaning down a bit until his face was inches from the brunette's.

Myde leaned away a little in response, the edge of the counter biting into his back, "Because you were a jerk," he said simply, softly, averting his gaze.

"You over-reacted for no reason," the redhead said with a small sigh, trying not to turn this into an argument.

"You have no idea what it was like, do you?" Myde whispered bitterly, meeting Lea's eyes again, his own stinging with tears, "I watched him kill you. You...you died in my arms. Do you have _any_ idea how much that hurt?"

Lea was silent for a long moment as this sunk in-he'd done it again. He'd acted and spoken without considering others. He'd never considered the pain Demyx had to have gone through that day; losing Axel-it had been so long ago to him, months, while it was all still fresh, and the emotional wounds raw, for the brunette. Things would get worse before they got better, Lea realized now-the more Myde remembered, the more pain he would go through until he knew everything about his former self, and learned to accept it all.

"Myde…I'm sorry," the redhead apologized, threading his fingers through Myde's hair.

The teen didn't answer, just turned his gaze down to the floor, struggling not to cry.

With a soft sigh, Lea slid his fingers under Myde's chin, tilting his head up. "I'm sorry," he repeated. He leaned closer to kiss Myde, but at the last second the brunette pushed him away.

"Going to try and seduce me again to make up for your mistakes?" he demanded with wounded eyes, stepping past the redhead.

Before he could get very far though, Lea caught him by the wrist, pulling the brunette to a stop. Myde started to protest, but the redhead wrapped his arms around him from behind, pulling the teen close against his chest.

"Lea, let go," Myde said softly, trying to pull himself free.

In response, the redhead merely tightened his embrace, burying his face in Myde's hair. "I'm sorry," he said again, "I just don't think sometimes. I say things, but…I don't think. I don't mean to upset you, you know that. I love you, Myde, and I'm sorry."

The brunette was silent for a moment, and then he twisted around in Lea's arms to nuzzle his head against the older's chest, closing his eyes. "It's still all so painful," he whispered, winding his own arms around the redhead, "Everything I remember makes it hurt more."

"I know, Myde," Lea said with a small sigh, holding the younger close, "But it'll get better eventually. The pain of it all will fade, and you'll be able to get past it."

"…Like you did?" Myde murmured, allowing himself to be lulled by the gentle sound of Lea's heartbeat.

"Yeah. Like I did," the redhead said, resting his chin on top of Myde's head. "Things _will_ get better."

The brunette was silent for a moment, and then he uttered a soft, content sound. "Alright," he said at last, "…I believe you, Lea."

Lea smiled faintly. "Thanks," he said, "You'll see. Someday."

"Mhmm," Myde murmured, lifting his head and standing on tip-toe to kiss the redhead, "And I love you too."


End file.
